Hi there!
Yes, Ketchikan has public transportation!
There is a public bus to get around Ketchikan.
So if you are arriving to Ketchikan by cruise ship, there are things to do in Ketchikan by bus on your own!
It is pretty simple to take the bus in Ketchikan.
You will just want to be prepared so you can pay the bus fare (with dollar bills or the app).
And of course you’ll want to know where the bus stop is located, and that is easy to figure out using google maps!
There is a bus stop near the Ketchikan cruise port.
There is also a bus stop somewhat near the Ward Cove cruise port. (There is also a free shuttle to downtown Ketchikan from Ward Cove.)
You can also take the public Ketchikan bus to get around downtown, but there is a free downtown Ketchikan bus.
So of course, if you only want to get around downtown Ketchikan, you will want to take the downtown shuttle because it’s FREE!
👆 You can get a public bus pick-up in downtown Ketchikan near the cruise port. But if you are only staying in downtown, you will want to look for the free downtown shuttle!
👆 Spot the Ketchikan bus! Spot the cruise ship! There are bus stops near the Ketchikan cruise port!
👆 Ward Cove cruise port. If you are doing a Norwegian cruise to Ketchikan, then your cruise ship will dock at Ward Cove, which is away from downtown Ketchikan. The Ketchikan bus route goes by Ward Cove. I met people who went from Ward Cove to Totem Bight State Park by bus. NCL will provide a free shuttle from Ward Cove to downtown Ketchikan.
The most popular things to do in Ketchikan by bus are Totem Bight State Historical Park and Saxman Park.
Both of these places are among the best places to see totem poles in Ketchikan… and the best places to see totem poles during an Alaska cruise!
👆 Spot the Ketchikan bus going to Totem Bight State Park! Spot the cruise ship! There is a bus near the Ketchikan cruise port that goes to Totem Bight State Park! You will take the Silver Line NORTH bus to go to Totem Bight State Park from the cruise port.
👆 Spot the Silver Line SOUTH bus that goes to Saxman Totem Park! Spot the cruise ship!
👆 Spot the Ketchikan bus in front of Saxman Totem Park! Spot the totem poles! There is a bus stop near Saxman Village so you can go there by bus from the cruise port! The bus will drop you off along the highway, and then you’ll walk up the road past totem poles to get to the small park!
Is it easy to take the bus in Ketchikan?!
After you take the bus once or twice, you will feel like a pro!
It’s pretty easy to manage the public bus system in Ketchikan, and Google Maps makes that even easier.
Simply plug in your starting point and end point, click on the public transit icon, and your public transportation options are shown!
It’s a pretty reliable way of getting around Ketchikan by bus.
👆 Ketchikan bus directions: How google maps makes it easy to know how to take the Ketchikan bus to Totem Bight State Park for example! You can adjust the departure time to get a better idea of what bus timings will be available when you go. Explore the map.
How much does the Ketchikan bus cost?
A single bus ride costs $2. Confirm the Ketchikan bus fare.
You can also go cashless by downloading the token transit app ahead of time and setting that up.
👆 Bus information from spring 2023. Confirm the Ketchikan bus information.
👆 The cost of the Ketchikan bus fare is $2 in cash. You will want to bring dollars bills as no change will be given. Confirm the Ketchikan bus fare.
How do you buy the bus ticket?
If you will be using the Ketchikan bus app (the token transit app), then you will show the bus driver the app when you get on the bus.
If you will be paying in cash, then you’ll pay the bus fare immediately upon getting on the bus.
There is a fare box next to the bus driver, and that’s where you’ll insert the cash.
It is cash only, and no change will be given to you. So make sure you have exact change.
You don’t need to do anything special as you’re getting off the bus in regards to the bus fare.
No matter how you pay, you will not be given anything (like a bus ticket).
Once you pay, you are all set.
Where are the bus stops located?
The easiest way to know where to walk to for the bus stop is to consult Google Maps.
Again, Google Maps is a reliable way to figure out the bus in Ketchikan.
Once you’re ready to get on the bus, open up the Google Maps app on your phone.
Then, type in the destination you want to get to.
And then for the starting location, with your GPS location on, have the directions start from your “current location.”
Be sure to select the public transportation icon to get the directions.
And then it will give you bus directions, including how to get to the nearest bus stop!
Make sure you’re standing on the correct side of the road!!
What are the bus timings?
So same thing with the bus timings.
I feel Google Maps makes this the easiest.
But what if you’re not leaving right now, and you’re just in the planning stages and wondering how long the bus route will take?
Instead of using current location, you can type in “Ketchikan cruise ships docks” (or any location in Ketchikan) as your starting location, and then expand out the options to see how frequently the buses seem to come.
In this case, it could also be helpful to change the “departure time” to a time that might be around when you’ll leave.
Weekday vs weekends can make a difference too.
So if today is Sunday and you’re doing your Ketchikan bus research on Google Maps, it could be good to change the date to a Monday or something.
Otherwise, the default is “leave now”… and I have found that leave now is on the current Alaska time, not your local time.
So again, if right now is like 2am in Alaska, you might consider changing that to 9am or something.
If you really want to know the official bus timings schedule, you can see here.
👆 Even the city of Ketchikan recommends using google maps to plan your bus trip in Ketchikan!
See the process for planning your bus trip in Ketchikan if you’ll be taking the bus to see totem poles:
Stay on this page and see below for pictures of taking the bus in Ketchikan!
See more about Ketchikan:
- Best Ketchikan excursions
- Walking to Creek Street
- What to see: Totem Bight totem poles (14 of them!)
- What to see: Saxman Park totem poles
See more about Alaska cruise ports on your own:
- Bus to Mendenhall Glacier
- Sitka National Historical Park totem poles
- Things to do in Alaska cruise ports on your own
- T-mobile in Alaska
More below about what it looks like to take public transportation in Ketchikan!
🏔
So…
How do you actually take the bus in Ketchikan?!
- Consult google maps for the bus stop location
- Go to the bus stop
- When the bus arrives, get on the bus and pay the bus fare or show the app!
- Enjoy the bus ride through Ketchikan!
- When your bus stop is the next stop, pull the yellow cord
- When you arrive at your bus stop, get off the bus!
- Enjoy Ketchikan!
So you go to your bus stop.
Don’t stress if the bus does not arrive on time.
It’s possible that it will be late.
Okay, so your bus comes!
👆 The Ketchikan bus looks like a regular city bus.
You get on the bus.
It could be good to confirm with the bus driver that the bus will go to your intended destination to make sure you are getting on a bus that’s going in the direction you want!
You pay for your bus fare in cash with exact change by placing money in the fare box that’s located next to the bus driver immediately upon getting on the bus.
Or, show the Ketchikan bus app to the bus driver.
👆 You’ll see the bus fare box immediately upon getting on the bus.
👆 Insert cash with exact change in the bus fare box!
Then, you find a seat to sit down.
Or maybe you stand because it’s crowded!
👆 Inside a Ketchikan bus.
Then…
ENJOY THE RIDE!!
And then next…
So once you are on the bus, you can check Google Maps to keep track of how close you are to your destination.
If you expand out Google Maps, it will also tell you the name of the bus stops that are before yours.
You can also follow along on the map by GPS.
This can make it easy to keep track and know when your stop is coming up!
👆 You can use google maps with GPS to see where you are on the bus stop to know when you are approaching your bus stop. This is the bus route from downtown Ketchikan to Totem Bight State Park.
Then, once yours is the next stop…
There’s a wire thing along the window.
Pull that!
This will indicate to the bus driver that someone wants to get off.
If you’re getting off at Totem Bight State Park or Saxman Park, chances are the bus driver will stop anyway since these are popular tourist stops.
But if you’re getting off at another stop, you’ll want to signal to the bus driver that you want to get off.
Then, when the bus stops, you can get off the bus!
And then walk the rest of the way to your destination, and…
ENJOY KETCHIKAN!!
👆 Walking from the bus stop to the Totem Bight State Park totem trail!
And that’s a bit about taking public transportation in Ketchikan!
Compare Ketchikan totem parks:
HAPPY TAKING THE BUS IN KETCHIKAN!
There are partner websites included in this post. I may earn a commission.